[gentoo-user] multiple bluetooth devices

I am using a single BT usb dongle to communicate over rfcomm with two BT Arduino based devices.  Individually they work fine but if one is connected (to rfcomm1), but any attempt to use the other (rfcomm0) fails and knocks the first into limbo requiring recovery.

The BT spec implies up to 8 clients can communicate over a single BT device.  Ive also tried using different channels for each but the clients look like they are channel 1 only.

Can anyone see a way around this or will I need to do some kind of polling to make sure the other device isn't using it before attempting comms?

The server is using bluez 4 with the standard gentoo files with the two devices parameters set in /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf.

BillK